A potential oriental fruit fly infestation has prompted state agriculture officials to issue a months-long quarantine on a large area of Santa Clara County that includes parts of five cities, according to a news release Wednesday.
The 112-square-mile quarantine area includes the entire city of Santa Clara and parts of Cupertino, Milpitas, San Jose and Sunnyvale. The area will remain under quarantine into June 2024 to allow state authorities to eliminate the invasive pest, ag officials said.
Eight flies have been found in the cities of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, prompting the quarantine, officials said. Crews from the state Department of Food and Agriculture will treat the area near where the flies were trapped, likely through March.
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County agriculture officials say residents in the quarantine area should not move homegrown fruits and vegetables from their property. But the food items are OK to be consumed or processed on the property where they were grown.
Residents also should dispose of homegrown fruits and vegetables by double-bagging and sealing them and placing them in regular trash bins, not in the green waste bins, county officials said.
The oriental fruit fly is known to infest more than 230 types of fruits and vegetables, including such valuable California crops as avocados, apples, stone and citrus fruits, tomatoes and peppers.
According to state ag officials, the most common ways for the fruit fly to enter California are when:
- Residents accidentally bring prohibited fruits and vegetables back from their travels or receive packages of homegrown produce through the mail.
- Smugglers intentionally circumvent agricultural checks to bring tropical fruit into the state.
Consumers should be leery of tropical fruit sold online at high prices, especially if those fruits aren't found in grocery stores.
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Anyone who find insects or larvae inside their fruits or vegetables or has questions about the eradication project should call the CDFA Pest Hotline at 800-491-1899.
Visit the Don't Pack a Pest website for more information. Anyone who comes across produce that looks like it may be infested or who has questions can contact the Santa Clara County Division of Agriculture at scc.agriculture@cep.sccgov.org or 408-918-4600.
The CDFA has additional information on its oriental fruit fly webpage.
